Early Qing

people. 580,390: 1647 CE; 612,075 : 1657 CE; 668,226: 1671 CE; 822,625: 1711 CE; 890,892: 1781 CE ^[1] - Hankou : 99,380 people in 1721 CE ^[2]

[1]: Sit, F. S., & 薛鳳旋. 1996 北京: 由傳統國都到社會主義首都. 香港: 香港大學出版社

[2]: (Zhang, 2011, p.129)

km^2

People
143,411,559: 1741 CE; 159,801,551: 1742 CE; 164,454,416: 1743 CE; 166,808,604: 1744 CE; 169,922,127: 1745 CE; 171,896,773: 1746 CE; 171,896,773: 1747CE; 177,495,039: 1748 CE; {177,495,039; 177,538,796}: 1749CE; 179,538,540: 1750 CE; 181,811,359: 1751 CE; 182,857,277: 1752 CE; 183,678,259: 1753 CE; 184,504,493: 1754 CE; 185,612,881: 1755 CE; 186,615,514: 1756 CE; 190,348,328: 1757 CE; 191,672,808: 1758 CE; 194,791,859: 1759 CE; 196,837,977: 1760 CE; {198,214,555; 198,214,553}: 1761 CE; {200,472,461; 201,013,344}: 1762 CE; 204,299,828: 1763 CE; 205,591,017: 1764 CE; 206,993,224: 1765 CE; 208,095,796: 1766 CE; {209,839,546; 209,749,547}: 1767 CE; 210,837,502: 1768 CE; 212,023,042: 1769 CE; 213,613,163: 1770 CE; {214,600,356; 214,647,251}: 1771 CE; 216,467,258: 1772 CE; 218,743,315: 1773 CE; 221,027,224: 1774 CE; 264,561,355: 1775 CE; {268,238,181; 268,238,182}: 1776 CE; 270,863,760: 1777 CE; 242,965,618: 1778 CE; 275,042,916: 1779 CE; 277,554,431: 1780 CE; 279,816,070: 1781 CE; 281,822,675: 1782 CE; {284,033,785; 284,033,805}: 1783 CE; 286,331,307: 1784 CE; 288,863,974: 1785 CE; 291,102,486: 1786 CE; 292,429,018: 1787 CE; {294,852,089; 294,852,189}: 1788 CE; 297,717,496: 1789 CE; {301,487,115; 301,487,114}: 1790 CE; {304,354,110; 304,354,160}: 1791 CE; 307,467,279: 1792 CE; 310,497,210: 1793 CE; {313,281,795; 313,281,295}: 1794 CE; 296,968,968: 1795 CE; 275,662,044: 1796 CE ^[1]
"300 million in 1795" ^[2]

[1]: (姜涛, 1990)

[2]: (Lorge 2015, 182)

levels.
1. Capital
2. Province seat
3. Tao seat
4. Prefecture seat
5. County seat
6. Town
7. Village
Province: 18 provinces ^[1]
Tao: Grouping of two or more prefectures for certain purpose, was interposed between the prefectures and provinces ^[2]
Prefecture (Fu): 180 prefectures ^[3]
"The Ch’ing judicial system rose upward through a territorial hierarchy of some six different levels. It began with the 1,500 xians or counties (also called districts) and similar regions and then proceeded to the higher levels of the 180 prefectures and the 18 provinces. Thence cases went to the Board of Punishments at the capital and then to a fifth level, the three high courts. The emperor was the top level. He might confirm or reject recommendations concerning capital cases sent up from below.” ^[3]

[1]: (J. Zhang, 2011, 237)

[2]: (Zhang, 2011)

[3]: (Fairbank 1978 23)

levels. Inferred from previous polities.
1. Emperor
2. Ministry of Rites
3. Ritual specialists

levels.
1. Commander-in-chief (Emperor)2. Provincial governor/Governor-general3. Provincial military commander/Provincial commander-in-chief/General-in-chief4. 副將5. 參將6. 游擊7. 都司8. 守備9.千總10. 把總
"Most Chinese troops were incorporated into Green Standard armies that restored order in the countryside. These forces were under the command of provincial governors and tightly constrained in the ambit of their activities. After peace was restored most of these ad hoc measures solidified into regular practice." ^[1]
One army unit 35,000 men?
1695 CE at Kerulen and Tula rivers. "The Kangxi emperor seized the opportunity to pounce upon Galdan’s 20,000 men, sending three armies of 35,000 men each some 700 miles into the steppe. Just as before, he was lucky that as Galdan fled one army he ran into another. Galdan’s army was decisively crushed at Jaomodo on 12 June 1696, though he escaped." ^[2]

[1]: (Lorge 2005, 151)

[2]: (Lorge 2005, 161)

levels. This number equivalent to the number of levels in the provincial government, plus the Emperor.
1. Emperor"During the Qing conquest of Ming China, the Manchus struck a deal with local elites that allowed them to rule the empire in return for non-interference in local affairs." ^[1]
_Central government_
2. Grand Councilcreated by the Yongzheng emperor ^[2]
"the Qianlong emperor’s reign saw the expansion of the Grand Council system begun by his father during the war against the Zunghars. The Grand Council was a tool of imperial centralization that allowed the emperor to bypass the official bureaucracy for many decisions, particularly in prosecuting wars." ^[3]
3. Ministries
_Provincial government_
3. Zongdu (viceroy, governor general) or Xunfu (governor)In charge of provinces.
4. Officials in charge of taos5. PrefectsIn charge of prefectures.
6. County chiefs7. County magistrates8. Clerks to the above offices
The yamen of the district magistrate (usually the county magistrate, but sometimes prefecture or ting) was the lowest point in the official hierarchy. ^[4] District Magistrate occupied position 7A in the Qing territorial administrative hierarchy. ^[5] Mostern confirmed that county should be one level above district, since ’xiang’ are subordinate to ’xian,’ which is routinely translated to ’county.’ ^[6] There was a prefect level between county magistrates and provincial governors, while district magistrates were too low to be included in a prefecture so they were overseen directly by the provincial governor. Promotion from county magistrate to prefect was possible. ^[7]
"Western Sichuan was controlled by hereditary chieftains with only the vaguest connections to the Qing government. These non-Han peoples were widely dispersed in mountainous terrain, where one of their main distinguishing features from the Qing court’s perspective was their constant internecine fighting." ^[8]

[1]: (Lorge 2005, 172)

[2]: (Lorge 2005, 173)

[3]: (Lorge 2005, 164)

[4]: ( Zhang, 2011, 63)

[5]: (57, Table 2.3) Guy, K. 2017. Qing Governors and Their Provinces: The Evolution of Territorial Administration in China, 1644-1796. University of Washington Press.

[6]: (Mostern, Ruth. Personal Communication to Peter Turchin, Dan Hoyer, and Jill Levine. April 2020. Email)

[7]: (80-81) Guy, K. 2014. ‘Routine Promotions: Li Hu and the Dusty Byways of Empire. In, The Dynastic Centre and the Provinces: Agents and Interactions. BRILL.

[8]: (Lorge 2005, 166)

"... begun during the Tang dynasty... The rise of religious professionals and soldiers as clearly separate groups was contrary to the previous normative view of society divided into knights (shi, the term that would later be applied to the literati or gentry), farmers, artisans and merchants." ^[1]

[1]: (Lorge 2005, 7)

^[1]

[1]: (Lorge 2005, 161)

e.g. administrative and civil service office buildings, archives and records, etc. ^[1]

[1]: (Rowe, 2010, p.34-36)

Elman’s "Chart of Civil Examinations and Degrees during the Ming and Ch’ing" shows promotion through the ranks was achieved by examination. ^[1]

[1]: (Elman 2013, 102) Elman, B. A. 2013. Civil Examinations and Meritocracy in Late Imperial China. Harvard: Harvard University Press.

The number of both clerks and secretaries grew dramatically over the course of the Qing dynasty in response to the growing complexity of governmental tasks. Rowe refers to the "empire-wide clerical diaspora" of literate males part of the state and local level administrative apparatus. ^[1]

[1]: (Rowe, 2010, p.51-52)

"success in the civil service exams became a remote possibility for the overwhelming majority of educated men" ^[1]

[1]: (Lorge 2005, 172)

Qing territorial administration at both the provincial and county levels included functional specialists such as provincial judges and treasurers. In later years, regional satraps assumed unprecedented discretion over the appointments of provincial treasurers and judges, prefects and county magistrates. ^[1]

[1]: (Rowe 2010, p.38, 207)

"the Ch’ing legal code specified heavy penalties for breaches of etiquette in state-sponsored ceremonies (improper conduct, poor preparations, etc.)" ^[1]

[1]: (Smith 1990, 288)

Magistrates heard cases ^[1] but it seems this would be done in government buildings rather than a specialized courthouse.

[1]: (Zhang, 2011, 63)

The ’standard marketing community,’ comprising an area of around 20 square miles allowed all villagers within two or three miles of the town access to its periodic markets held every three days. In contrast to officially registered, licensed, and taxed markets at higher levels, these lower-level markets supported unlicensed petty brokers who were self-regulated and self-taxed. Most sellers at any standard market (including peasants) were likely to be itinerants and the standard market town usually possessed certain permanent facilities including eating places, teahouses, wine shops and other shops selling basic items. ^[1]

[1]: (Smith 2015, p.160)

^{[1] [2]} the Qing regime extended irrigation infrastructure into new areas, and the long- or short-term community enterprises like irrigation systems and other various civil construction projects offered sources of income through their management. ^[3]

[1]: (Yi 2011, 45-52)

[2]: (Zhang 2011, 286-292)

[3]: (Rowe 2010, p.55, 113)

The period of most rapid population growth (1749-1851) was more than a doubling of China’s population. The Qing dynasty had to come up with solutions to increase food production and feed the growing population. High-yielding rice seeds were imported, new crops were introduced from the Americas, grain storage was emphasized, and irrigation works were expanded ^[1]

[1]: (Zhang, 2011, p.131-132)

"In Beijing, dwellers had, for generations, been using wells to draw groundwater for their daily life. The alleys in Beijing are called ’hutong’ which means ’well’ in Mongolian. [...] When the City was reconstructed in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, many ’hutongs’ were left without a well. According to contemporary records from the Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties, the quality of water in the wells had been low due to salinisation and this led to two results: water was supplied at three levels of quality (for washing, cooking, and drinking tea); and, seling water became a profession in Beijing (Duan, 1989)." ^[1]

[1]: (Du & Koenig 2012, 187)

In 1644 CE "Dorgon was also sensitive to the need to reopen roads and transportation so that food and money would flow to Beijing." ^[1]

[1]: (Lorge 2005, 151)

e.g. Canton, Amoy, Fuchow, Ningpo, Shanghai, Jiaozhou Bay, Dalian, Port Arthur. ^{[1] [2]}
The most impressive/costly building(s)

[1]: (Smith 2015, p.163)

[2]: (Fu and Cao 2019, p.329)

e.g. The Grand Canal. Canal-transport continued to play an important economic role in the link between north and south China, and the upkeep and expansion undertaken during the Ming dynasty was continued under the Qing in varying degrees. ^[1] At the end of the Grand Canal was Hangzhou, connected with Ningbo port through the Eastern Zhejiang Canal, which served as the economic lifeline of the development of Hangzhou. The key to this development was the connection between the water system in the city and the outside through canals and irrigation networks. ^[2]

[1]: (Smith, 2015, p.83, 216)

[2]: (Fu and Cao 2019, p.329)

During the early Qing, the development of Hangzhou involved the digging and dredging of rivers in the city as well as the river outside Zhangyang Gate, the river from Mija Bridge to Guojun Bridge, the river from Jionglong Bridge to Zhongguan Bridge, the river from Houchou Watergate to Guojun Bridge, and up to the river from Pocang Bridge to Gonguandong Bridge. This project led to an expansion of the rivers which had become clean and clear, flowing smoothly, allowing an increase in boat traffic. ^[1]

[1]: (Fu and Cao 2019, p.329)

Qing rulers limited their trading licenses and usually refused them permission to open new mines, except in poor areas. ^{[1] [2]}

[1]: (Myers & Wang 2002, 66-9)

[2]: (Myers, H. Ramon; Wang, Yeh-Chien 2002)

e.g. continuation of producing official versions of history inherited from the Ming. A textual research method known as Jia Qian Pu Xue evolved during the early Qing and involved the comprehensive and spirited research of documents, texts, and records ranging from history to geography and Confucian Classics. ^[1]

[1]: (Zhang 2015, p.380)

Chinese

Chinese

In 1708 CE, the Kangxi Emperor ordered the compilation to astronomical observations and astrological triangulation manner, using drawing trapezoidal projection method with ratio of 1/400000. Maps depicting the range to the northeast of Sakhalin, southeast to Taiwan, west to the Ili River, north to the North Sea (Lake Baikal), south cliff (now Hainan Island). ^[1]

[1]: (Lingfeng 2007, p.134)

Chinese

According to Smith, several "popular" etymologies served as mnemonic devices ^[1]

[1]: (Smith 2015, p.179)

"Printing houses established for the production of religious material also published journals that discussed current affairs and scientific knowledge." This Western influence more common in the Late Qing. ^[1]

[1]: (Woolley 2016, p.135)

e.g. Buddhist texts. "By the time of the Qing, ideas introduced through Buddhism had come to permeate popular religious practice. Buddhist texts were printed and circulated in society" in order to spread Buddhist teachings. ^[1]

[1]: (Woolley 2016, p.74)

e.g. The Transformations of Wenchang, an influential text for understanding of the god, who had become important enough to be honored in official sacrifices on par with Confucius. According to Woolley, most religious texts of the Chinese tradition are regarded as having been brought into the world through divine intervention at appropriate times in order to enlighten humanity and save it from ill. This highly influential work was reproduced up until the end of the Qing. ^[1]

[1]: (Woolley 2016, p. 73)

e.g. Records of Everyday Learning, including details of the organizational structure of political powers and their advantages or disadvantages, information of the selection of government officials, and the function of social customs, as well as raised suggestions about the political issues that plagued the late Ming Dynasty. ^[1]

[1]: (Zheng 2015, p.380)

e.g. Confucian Classics ^[1]

[1]: (Zhang 2015, p.380)

e.g. list of general admonitions in mnemonic form ^[1]

[1]: (Woolley 2016, p.82)

e.g. Qingshi (History of the Qing Dynasty) ^[1]

[1]: (Zhang 2015, p.380)

e.g. Dream of the Red Chamber (紅樓夢), Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio (聊齋志異), The Scholars (儒林外史)
Money

e.g. almanacs allowing regulation of activities throughout the year based on the daily calendar. ^[1]

[1]: (Woolley 2016, p. 68)

"Bronze coin constituted the fundamental form of money in China throughout the imperial period." ^[1]

[1]: (von Glahn 1996, 1)

non-coined silver, gold, platinum

Qing issued paper currency in both Shunzhi and Xianfeng regime. “Although Chinese had begun using paper money during the Song Dynasty, the Ming had halted the practice in the mid-fifteenth century. Thereafter, except for two brief returns to paper currency by the Qing, in the Xunzhi (1644-61) and the Xianfeng (1851-61) reigns, no Chinese government again issued paper currency until the early twentieth century. The private sector moved to fill the void, and during the 100 or so years before the Opium War, several different instruments of currency, such as bank drafts were used to facilitate currency exchange. True paper money began circulating after various banks and money-changing shops issued paper receipts for deposits for silver and copper; these receipts, backed by a 100 percent reserve, soon began circulating as money.” ^[1]

[1]: (Eastman 1988, 111) Eastman, Lloyd. 1988. Family, Fields and Ancestors: Constancy and Change in China’s Social and Economic History 1550-1949. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Bronze coin for everyday use. In the early Qing, as in the late Ming, the state treated coinage more as a source of revenue than an instrument of sovereign control over the economy. However, the growth of the commercial economy in the late seventeenth and eighteenth centuries rekindled market demand for coin. ^[1] Bimetallic system, includes the use of silver taels with copper and bronze coins. When the supply of silver changed as a result of international trade, it caused great financially instability within the system. ^[2]

[1]: (von Glahn 1996, p.252)

[2]: (Mostern, Ruth. Personal Communication to Jill Levine, Dan Hoyer, and Peter Turchin. April 2020. Email)

With the development of foreign trade in the Qing dynasty, more foreign silver coins entered into China, including Spanish silver coins, Mexican silver coins, and Japanese silver coins. ^[1]

[1]: (Zhengping 2014, p. 21)

"Bronze coin constituted the fundamental form of money in China throughout the imperial period." ^[1]

[1]: (von Glahn 1996, 1)

Postal stations suffered greatly from warfare during the early Qing dynasty, however the reign of emperors Kangxi and Yongzheng saw great improvements to the postal service with the reconstruction of post offices and the establishment of new courier stations in remote and border areas. ^[1]

[1]: (Ma et al. 2016, p. 307)

Postal service improved by the government from 1662 to 1735 ^[1] However, it was not until 1896 that the Great Qing Imperial Post Office was established, providing the first ever national postal service for the general public, which allowed for greater contact with the rest of the world. ^[2]

[1]: (Ma et al. 2016, p. 307)

[2]: (Tsai 2015, p.895-896)

During the Qing dynasty, the courier stations set out by the government on the post roads had size names: Yi, Zhan, Tang, Tai, Suo, and Pu, depending on which type of mail they delivered. ^[1]

[1]: (Ma et al. 2016, p.306)

^[1]

[1]: (Theobald 2013, 85)

Used against Qing troops by the Jinchuan. ^[1]

[1]: (Theobald 2013, 17)

City walls. ^[1]

[1]: (Theobald 2013, 97)

"Furdan, the commander of the northern army, built a fort at Khobdo, deep in Mongolia." ^[1]

[1]: (Lorge 2005, 163)

Used against Qing troops by the Jinchuan. ^[1]

[1]: (Theobald 2013, 17)

"Furdan, the commander of the northern army, built a fort at Khobdo, deep in Mongolia." ^[1]

[1]: (Lorge 2005, 163)

Willow palisade, completed in 1681. ^[1]

[1]: (Reardon-Anderson 2005, 23)

Digging tunnels and placing mines in them was a common practice for conquering fortresses. ^[1]

[1]: (Theobald 2013, 17)

Armed land and coastal forts, paotai, first built in the 1650s under Emperor Kangxi’s reign. "In keeping with Kangxi’s emphasis on coastal fortifications, the Yongzheng and the Qianlong emperors both considered a network of forts to be a vital component of the empire’s defense network along its maritime frontier." ^[1]

[1]: (Po 2018, 135)

e.g. sabres ^[1]

[1]: (Tom 2001, p.207-222)

e.g. cannon. Quality of the iron used in the Qing cannon was poor due to less advanced smelting technology. Furnaces were cooler making it impossible to purify the molten iron. ^[1]

[1]: (Mao 2016, p.30)

e.g. cannon. Cannon made with copper alloy, but due to the scarcity of copper during this era, these cannon were rare. ^[1]

[1]: (Mao 2016, p.300)

e.g. cannon. When cannon were not made of cast iron, they were made of bronze which was less rare and prized than copper. Bronze cannon cast in Shanghai included the ’crouching tiger cannon’ a method of manufacture passed down from the Ming Dynasty. ^[1]

[1]: (Mao 2016, p.309, 378)

Catapults were "gradually replaced by the larger and more powerful cannons of the gunpowder age, completely disappearing by the middle of the Ming dynasty in about the 15th or 16th century A.D." ^[1]

[1]: (Liang 2005)

"The traditional weapon of the Banner troops was the bow and arrow" ^[1]

[1]: (Theobald, 2013, 78)

Arquebuses. ^[1] The Green Standard Army, an imperial military unit made of up mostly Han Chinese, relied heavily on firearms by 1700. ^[2]

[1]: (Lorge 2005, 166)

[2]: (Lococo, 2002, 125)>

Cannon. ^[1] Gingall. ^[2]

[1]: (Lorge 2005, 166)

[2]: (Selby, 2000, 348)

Crossbows remained in use through the Early and Late Qing periods, e.g. chu-ko-nu which was a Chinese repeating crossbow equipped with a magazine to hold bolts. Typically made of wood, sinew wrapping, bamboo and thick rawhide string. ^[1]

[1]: (Grayson, French and O’Brien 2007, p.24)

The long reflexed composite bow was introduced by the Manchu of the Qing Dynasty and was capable of propelling heavy arrows with great force. They were not well suited for horseback, but their durability and power ensured that they became the standard bow of China, Manchu-dominated Mongolia and Tibet. Typically made with a bamboo core, horn belly, sinew backing, and wooden tips and handle. ^[1]

[1]: (Grayson, French and O’Brien 2007, p.11)

"1674 CE Wu’s army in revolt had cannon and sword." ^[1]

[1]: (Lorge 2005, 154)

A fighting weapon used simultaneously with firearms as a "cold weapon." Qing soldiers in combat relied on old-fashioned wall guns and shotguns, in addition to daggers, spears, bows, and arrows. ^[1]

[1]: (Zhong 2014, 516, 570)

Qing "cold weapons" included halberds, tomahawks, hooks, maces, and lances. ^[1]

[1]: (Zhong 2014, 570-572)

e.g. dagger-axes ^[1]

[1]: (Zhong 2014, 516)

"cavalry-rich army of the Manchus." ^[1]

[1]: (Roy 2014, 82)

Never used in warfare. ^[1]

[1]: (North China Workshop 2016)

Soldiers wore jackets made of thirty to sixty layers of "tough bark-pulp paper." ^[1]

[1]: (Garrett, 2007, 28)

Rattan shields. ^[1]

[1]: (Garrett, 2007, 28)

coded inferred present for Ming. For high-ranking officers; "copper gilt plates alternating with brocade and copper studs." A lower-ranking soldier wore a long coat of quilted nankeen cotton or a thickly wadded jacket of bark-pulp paper "covered with thin plates of metal surrounded by brass studs." ^[1]

[1]: (Garrett, 2007, 28)

skirt with copper or brass studs.

Brigandine. "The Manchu troops fired their cannons and the infantry, wearing padded cotton armour, advanced behind a wooden barricade." ^[1]

[1]: (Roy 2014, 85)

present at least as legacy armour. For high-ranking officers; "copper gilt plates alternating with brocade and copper studs." A lower-ranking soldier wore a long coat of quilted nankeen cotton or a thickly wadded jacket of bark-pulp paper "covered with thin plates of metal surrounded by brass studs." ^[1]

[1]: (Garrett, 2007, 28)

"Cavalrymen, each responsible for three horses, wore metal helmets adorned with red tassels." ^[1]

[1]: (Smith 2015, 56)

"Liang Fen also notes: [Galdan] did not obtain military supplies from distant places, because he was very clever at making high-quality weapons himself. He made armor with small links of chain mail, as light as cloth." ^[1]

[1]: (Perdue 2009, 304)

For high-ranking officers; "copper gilt plates alternating with brocade and copper studs." A lower-ranking soldier wore a long coat of quilted nankeen cotton or a thickly wadded jacket of bark-pulp paper "covered with thin plates of metal surrounded by brass studs." ^[1]

[1]: (Garrett, 2007, 28)

"The pitiful state of the Chinese navy can be attributed to the fact that from the conquest of Taiwan in 1683 until the mid-nineteenth century, China was not faced by any serious threats from the sea." ^[1] Qing sent several hundred ships to Taiwan in the Battle of Penghu in 1683. Qing policies did not require a strong navy, "so the Chinese navy gradually atrophied over time. ^[2]

[1]: (Lococo, 2002, 125)

[2]: (Erickson and Goldstein 2009, 289)

"China’s seagoing forces consisted of small ships and boats tethered to the military organizations of specific provinces." ^[1]

[1]: (Dreyer, 2012, 28)